This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 44/5/721    most recent 01.HYP.0000144293.40699.9av1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Boreham, C. A. Articles by Murray, L. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Boreham, C. A. Articles by Murray, L. J. Related Collections Epidemiology Primary prevention Other Vascular biology Risk Factors Other arteriosclerosis

(Hypertension. 2004;44:721.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

Scientific Contributions

Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Physical Activity, and Arterial Stiffness

The Northern Ireland Young Hearts Project

Colin A. Boreham; Isabel Ferreira; Jos W. Twisk; Alison M. Gallagher; Maurice J. Savage; Liam J. Murray

From the School of Applied Medical Sciences and Sports Studies (C.A.B.), University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Northern Ireland; Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine (I.F., J.W.T.), VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Public Health (I.F.), Erasmus MC-University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Northern Ireland Centre for Diet and Health (A.M.G.), University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Northern Ireland; Department of Child Health (M.J.S.), The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland; and the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health (L.J.M.), The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Correspondence to Professor Colin Boreham, School of Applied Medical Sciences and Sports Studies, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Northern Ireland, BT37 0QB United Kingdom. E-mail ca.boreham{at}ulster.ac.uk

Poor cardiorespiratory fitness and low physical activity have been identified as determinants of greater arterial stiffness, a mechanism that can partially explain the association of both variables with increased cardiovascular disease. However, the nature of these associations are not clear because cardiorespiratory fitness and physical activity can both mediate and confound the associations of one another with arterial stiffness. This issue was therefore examined in a population-based cohort of young adults. Subjects included 405 young men and women participating in an ongoing longitudinal study, the Northern Ireland Young Hearts Project. Pulse wave velocity was used to determine arterial stiffness in 2 arterial segments (aortoiliac and aortodorsalis pedis) using a noninvasive optical method. Cardiovascular fitness was estimated with a submaximal cycle test of physical work capacity and physical activity was estimated using a modified Baecke questionnaire. Associations were investigated with the use of multiple linear regression models with adjustment for potential confounders and/or intermediate variables. Cardiorespiratory fitness and sports-related physical activity (but not leisure- and work-related physical activity) were inversely associated with arterial stiffness in young adults. The associations between sports-related physical activity and arterial stiffness were strongly mediated by cardiorespiratory fitness, whereas physical activity levels did not disturb the associations between cardiopulmonary fitness and arterial stiffness. These findings suggest that arterial stiffness-related benefits of exercise are most likely to accrue if exercise prescription in young adults targets improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness.

Key Words: young adults • exercise • cross-sectional studies • epidemiology • arteriosclerosis • hypertension, arterial

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Otsuki, S. Maeda, M. Iemitsu, Y. Saito, Y. Tanimura, R. Ajisaka, and T. Miyauchi Systemic arterial compliance, systemic vascular resistance, and effective arterial elastance during exercise in endurance-trained men Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, July 1, 2008; 295(1): R228 - R235. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. A. Meriwether, F. Lobelo, and R. R. Pate Themed Review: Clinical Interventions to Promote Physical Activity in Youth American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, February 1, 2008; 2(1): 7 - 25. [Abstract] [PDF]

				I. Ferreira, R. M. A. Henry, J. W. R. Twisk, W. van Mechelen, H. C. G. Kemper, and C. D. A. Stehouwer The Metabolic Syndrome, Cardiopulmonary Fitness, and Subcutaneous Trunk Fat as Independent Determinants of Arterial Stiffness: The Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study Arch Intern Med, April 25, 2005; 165(8): 875 - 882. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]